Goop CCO Is Eyeing CBD, THC, Psychedelics as Wellness Empire Expands

January 18, 2019

2mo ago

By Carlo Versano

The sun will never set on Gwyneth Paltrow's empire.

Goop, the actress' 10-year-old lifestyle and wellness brand, now operates stores in Southern California, New York, and London, where the Goop pop-up was recently given permanent brick-and-mortar status. Soon, an eponymous Netflix ($NFLX) show will launch, joining a book imprint, podcast, and website as part of the brand's media presence. But as CCO Elise Loehnen told Cheddar from the Goop outpost in Brentwood, Calif., the content strategy is but one arm of the expanding business ー retail is the other.

The Goop brick-and-mortar stores reflect the essence of the brand that is best known for its extravagant holiday gift guide (a $170,000 village in Spain; $900 rose gold flask) and vaginal jade eggs ー equal parts wellness-as-a-service and millennial kitsch, always with an eye on trendy, curated product assortments for high-end female consumers.

So it would make sense for Goop to get into CBD offerings.

"I wouldn't be surprised," Loehnen said with a smile when asked if the brand was working on its own cannabanoid line. (Two ex-Goop employees recently launched their own "Sephora for CBD" brand.)

Loehnen said Goop was also looking into THC products, as cannabis legalization spreads, as well as the research being done with psychedelic drugs to treat depression and PTSD.

The company, now 240 strong with a predominantly female C-Suite, is focused on a retail strategy Loehnen calls "contextual commerce."

"More content is not better," she said. Consumers want "fewer things that are better," transparency, and the experiential ー and they're willing to pay a premium to get it. It is therefore Goop's job to curate a collection of products and "experiences" that reflects its own ethos ー the stores also offer space for activities like tarot readings and foam-roller classes ー and, of course, the ethos of its founder.